Operation: Camera
by Venom Malfoy
Summary: Kuki has just gotten a new Rainbow Monkey camera and has Wally model for her pictures. However, her lack of artistic eye causes the pictures to turn out less than perfect. Frustrated, Wally turns the tables and starts taking pictures of her.


**Summary**: Kuki has just gotten a new Rainbow Monkey digital display camera and has Wally model for her pictures. However, her hyperactiveness and lack of artistic eye causes the pictures to turn out less than perfect and out of focus. Frustrated, Wally turns the tables and starts taking pictures. It seems that fighting isn't his only forte.

* * *

**Ages**:  
Nigel Uno: 16  
Hoagie Gilligan: 17  
Kuki Sanban: 16  
Wally Beatles: 17  
Abby Lincoln: 17

* * *

**OPERATION: CAMERA**

* * *

It could have been your average summer evening, except for the fact it was pouring outside the treehouse. Instead of being warm and sunny, as the weather man had predicted, thunderstorms had woken all five of the former Kids Next Door members from their slumber and through out the day, they raged on and on. Missions and attacks were near impossible to execute, so four of the five members sat relaxing in their normal spots in the main area of the treehouse. However, the youngest member of the group had decided to make a journey down the street towards the Toy Store. 

Nigel Uno, formerly known as Numbuh One, sat in the largest armchair as he read the newspaper. Always wanting to be in the know, he had begun to read periodicals at the young age of twelve, right before he was scheduled to be decommissioned from the Kids Next Door. Four years and a secret recommissioning later, he still remained the bossy, slightly 'fraidy-cat leader of the Sector V branch of the Teens Next Door.

Numbuh Two, or Hoagie Gilligan as he was now called, rested on the floor amongst a bunch of blueprints for planes, jets, and other aircraft. Hoagie had slimmed down greatly since he was in the Kids Next Door, but he never once lost his love for flying or building 2x4 technology. Once he was decommissioned from the Kids Next Door, he was offered a job for Father, but turned it down, which allowed him to be recommissioned and selected to participate in the new TND organization.

Wally Beatles or Numbuh Four was still the hot-tempered lover/fighter of the group. He was the only one selected out of the original Sector V to go straight into the Teens Next Door, simply because the leaders of both the Kids Next Door and the Teens Next Door thought he was too stupid to blow their cover, and thankfully, they were right. Currently, he was battling a super kung-fu samurai on one of his console games, and losing badly.

Abby Lincoln, who was originally knons as Numbuh Five, watched Wally with half-interest, only turning away to read up on the latest gossip of some well-known actress with her well-known actor boyfriend, and their well-known love drama. She normally hated tabloids, but this one caught her eye. Still the ever-cool girl, she only smiled when Wally cried out as his player was knocked out.

"Ah, crud! Why'd he havta go and die on me? Now I gotta start the game from the third level!"

Nigel shook his head and peered over the edge of both the newspaper and his dark sunglasses. "Well, that's what you get for taking on one of the most powerful characters in the game and not saving it before hand." He smirked when Wally shot him a look that clearly said he didn't want to hear it.

"Chill out, Four," Hoagie had said, sketching a curvy line on one of the blueprints. "You'll easily get back up there. Just remember to save often and before you challenge every boss. At least, that's what I always do, and I've beaten that game ten times."

Wally pouted. He never liked being one-upped after all. "I'll keep that in mind," he replied sourly.

Silence resumed in the treehouse, with the exception of the raging storm outside, the clacking of the console controller and the slight turning of the pages. The falling raindrops on the window panes added to the serenity of the room. It was obviously relaxing as the moon began to rise behind the dark and heavy storm clouds. Thunder rumbled across the soundwaves and lighting illuminated the sky. No one jumped when the electricity suddenly went out, however...

"Ah, crud! Not again!"

"Find some candles. Five can get the circut breakers."

"Why does Five gotta do it?"

"Because you're the closest and it's dark!"

"I can't see my blueprints..."

"Oh, shut up, Two!"

"You shut up, Four!"

"You!"

"You!"

"_You_!"

"Will the both of ya'll just shut up!"

"Four, check the kitchen for candles or flashlights. Anything to light up this room until Five can fix the circut breaker. Two, check the closet in the hall. I'll check the cupboards."

"Ah, man! Where's Three's 'Glow And Tell' Rainbow Monkey when you absolutely need it?"

"Probably under her huge-gamous pile of Rainbow Monkies. She's collected 'em all, I'd say."

Thunder cracked silencing the four teens and stopped them in their tracks as they fumbled around in the dark. Instead of looking for what they had been assigned to do, four pairs of eyes had now turned to the front door. It swang eerily on its hinges as a dark figure, standing in the doorway, was illuminated. Her long black hair looked blue under the dim lighting of the moon as it peeked through the clouds. The rain was coming harder now. From somewhere in the back of the room, Wally screamed as the dark figure held up over her head what looked like a brick.

Heart hammering in her chest, Abby switched on the circut breakers and the lights sprang back to life, showing that the dark figure was none other than their missing teammate and she wasn't holding up a brick, but a camera. The four terrified teenagers breathed an audible sigh of relief. "Thank God," Abby whispered, sinking to the floor, never once releasing the egg beater handle of the circut breaker.

Kuki smiled at her teammates and gently skipped into the room, her smile beaming brightly against the dark sky. "They had it!" she giggled and dropped to the floor, spreading her legs so that she could empty the contents of a bag she had in her hand onto her lap. Out spilled a memory card, a camera/computer cable, and a bunch of little accessories such as stickers and other assorted things. "I can't believe they actually had it! The newest model and I got the last one!"

Nigel rolled his eyes slightly, trying his best to hide it behind his sunglasses, but both Abby and Hoagie caught it and stiffled their laughter. "That's wonderful, Three, but do you realize that you went out in the middle of a thunderstorm?"

Kuki looked hurt at his comment, but she shrugged her raincoat off and tossed it to him in an almost rough manner, catching the sleeve on his sunglasses. "Just because you don't want to go out and play in the rain, One, doesn't mean that everyone has to follow your example."

Abby smirked and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "She has a point you know," she snickered as Nigel pulled the wet piece of clothing off his head and glared at her.

"I happen to like the rain, and I happen to like Rainbow Monkies. I can't help it that the day that the Toy Store down the street decided to host their huge blowout sale it started to downpour. The television weather man said it was going to be sunny!"

Wally scoffed and sauntered over towards Kuki, his eyes slanted deviously. "You know perfectly well that you cannot trust most adults, especially the weather men. They don't deserve our trust." He smirked and sprang for the camera in Kuki's hands, but she knew his game and twisted her body so that instead of snatching the equipment, he caught air and fell forward.

"And apparently, neither do you, Mr. Beatles," she said, beaming in his general direction as he fell to the floor. She sighed and relaxed onto one of the larger couches as Wally resumed his position in front of the dead console, flipped it on and continued playing his game. "Even with all the rain, it's such a beautiful night. A warm cup of cocoa, a good magazine, and my Rainbow Monkey movie soundtrack playing in the background, and I'm all set. It's just too bad that I have other plans for tonight," she said, grinning deviously at Wally as he fumbled with the controller.

Nigel lifted an eyebrow and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "What plans exactly?"

"Plans with a special boy, of course."

Wally dropped his controller and lowered his head so that no one could see a frustrated blush creep onto his cheeks. Who could Kuki possibly be seeing? Annoyed and aggrivated, he stood up and walked into the kitchen, grabbed a glass of water and began to sip from it.

Hoagie frowned as he watched the sparks fly from Wally's eyes. "What boy is that?" he cautiously asked, knowing all too well that Wally would freak if Kuki was seeing Ace. Well, to be honest, the blond australian would probably freak if Kuki was seeing anybody.

"Wally, silly!"

Wally nearly choaked on his water as he spit it out in an almost comical routine. From her spot on the sofa, Abby giggled and bit back her tears of laughter. It wasn't everyday that the boy had that expression on his face, and it was priceless when he did. Nigel's lip twitched in a smile, and Hoagie doubled over trying to surpress the fit of chortles.

"I'ma do what now?" Wally asked, setting the glass down a little too hard, shattering the bottom out and proceeding to put a little slice his hand in the process. Wincing in pain, he didn't even realize that the asian girl had leapt from her seat and snatched his hand in her petite ones. "Three?" he whispered, in awe as she brought his hand up to her lips and proceeded to suck the blood running into his palm.

Hoagie and Abby exchanged looks, smiled, and returned back to whatever they were doing, leaving the youngest girl to tend to the blond. "You really should be more careful," Kuki scolded, pulling a bandage out from one of the drawers in the kitchen, tending to his small wound. "You're just lucky that none of that glass got into your hand." Wally blinked in amazement as she flashed him a bright smile and kissed the covered wound. "There, all better."

Wally blushed. After all, it wasn't every day that Kuki, the girl that he had fallen in love with, treated him so closely and affectionately. She was the more affectionate of the group, but lately, she seemed to pay more attention to not touching him just so, or to not brush against his arm. He frowned and shook his head to clear the sinking feeling he was getting. "Thank you, but what did you mean when you said me and you had plans today."

Her eyes lit up and she ran back over to the couch where she had discarded her camera and accessories. "You are going to pose for pictures while I take them," she said, giggling as she grabbed her things, turned back to the boy and shoved him towards his bedroom.

However, Wally protested. "What are you talking about? I don't wanna pose for any dumb Rainbow Monkey pictures! There is no way you're going to get me to sit still long enough for you to take a picture of me, especially if you're gonna make me do something stupid like pretend to play tea party or something!"

Kuki's eyes began to fill with tears. "But, Wally, I need you to pose, and it's not like you're going to be doing anything like that. I want pictures of you in your own room. You know, fighting an' stuff." She pouted and grabbed his arm, pressing it to her body tightly. Wally flushed. "Please? Do it for me?" He turned away, ashamed that he could so easily be persuaded by her pretty eyes. Slowly, as the bright red color began to fade from his face, he nodded.

Neither of them saw the look that the other three exchanged, which clearly said "we need to leave them alone". Abby smiled to herself as she watched the two disappear into the darkness of the hallways while Hoagie made a soft whip cracking movement with his wrist, stating the obvious. Kuki had Wally whipped.

* * *

Wally felt his face burn as Kuki snatched her camera off his bed and began to take simple shots of him. One was standing by his window, looking out at the ground as the rain fell from the sky, which would have been an amazing shot, had Kuki remembered to take the lens cap off. In fact, the first thirty pictures would have been awesome if not for that cap. The next twenty pictures were out of focus. The next fifteen were not in camera range. The next twenty-eight were because Kuki's batteries were dying ("stupid generic brand," she had said softly). And the last five were because Wally wasn't doing what he was supposed to. 

"I think I might have gotten it to work just right," she said as she replaced the batteries with her new recharageable ones and shut the door to the device. "Go stand over there and pretend like you were just hitting your punching bag." A couple of decent shots later, Kuki frowned and closed one eye. "Okay, Wally. Now, take off your shirt."

Wally looked as it he had been hit by all the punches he threw to the bag. The blush that had disappeared from his cheeks returned ten-fold and covered his whole face. "Take off my _WHAT_?" he asked, shocked.

She giggled softly and a slight rose color appeared on her cheeks. "I want to take pictures of you fighting, silly! It looks better if you're shirtless." The boy turned around and crossed his arms over his chest, silently refusing her request. "Please, Wally?" she asked, her big brown eyes enlarging.

He sighed. "Fine." Slowly, he yanked the orange hooded sweatshirt over his head and pulled off the white undershirt, returning to his pouting stance with his arms crossed over his chest. "Just so you know, I'm not enjoying this."

Kuki nodded, confirming that she did indeed know he wasn't happy. "Just a couple more pictures, okay? I know you don't like this, but," she blushed a darker red, "I think you look pretty good when you're fighting and I just wanted to capture that." She turned her eyes down so that she didn't have to look at him. "I watch you when we're fighting against the adults, you know."

Wally's jaw dropped. "You do?"

"Yes. You're much stronger than both Hoagie and Nigel, and you're definately stronger than Abby and I. I feel protected whenever I'm around you. It's almost as if," she turned away and grit her teeth.

"Almost as if what?"

She smiled sadly, lowering the camera to a side table next to his bed. "Almost as if you're my own Knight-In-Shining-Armor." Sighing, she sat on his bed, pulling at a few strands of her hair as she did so.

Wally smiled softly and sat next to her. "My fighting gets me into a lot of trouble though. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've gotten detention or something because I was caught fighting."

"You never fight against the kids who don't deserve it though. And you never strike first. You finish fights, Wally. You don't start them."

He scoffed. "Tell that to the principal."

Kuki turned to look at him, ready to laugh at his comment. However, her breath caught in her throat when she realized how close they had become. Their noses were mere inches apart and she could feel his breath against her face. She quickly cleared her throat and turned away. "Um, so...I know that you don't enjoy it, but do you mind if I take more pictures now?"

Wally had just recovered from how close they were and nodded. "Can I see them when you're done?"

"Of course," she said and flashed him a smile.

Hoagie frowned as he switched the channels on the television for the millionth time. Nervously, he glanced back towards Wally's bedroom door, which Kuki had conviently closed when they had disappeared. He turned to look at his two friends. Abby was still reading a magazine and Nigel was still reading the newspaper, but neither of their eyes were moving, which meant they were only pretending to be reading. He assumed that it meant they were also worried about the others.

* * *

"Those two have been in there for a while. You know," he paused, trying to stress what he was thinking without bluntly saying it, "_alone_. Don't you think we should go check on them?" 

Abby set down her magazine and smiled at the aviator of the group. "No." She knew better than to disturb Kuki when she really wanted something. "Give them some privacy."

Nigel frowned and folded his paper in half. "What _ARE_ they doing in there, anyway?"

The smile on Abby's face diminished and switched to secretive. "Who knows?"

The two boys looked at each other and nodded. "Five, what is going on?" Hoagie asked, changing his position so that he could sit on the arm of the chair she was sitting in. "You know. Both One and I know that you know, and we'll find out eventually, so you might as well spill it."

She closed her eyes and smirked. "Well, if you're going to find out eventually, then there's no point in Five telling you, now is there? Besides, I don't know what you're talking about. Since when is there something going on between Three and Four?"

Nigel rolled his eyes. "Since the first day they met."

She giggled. "Exactly. And that was when they were seven, almost ten years ago. We all know how they feel about each other, and personally I think it's about time."

Hoagie's eyes widened behind his goggles. "You mean..."

"They're _doing_ it?"

Abby face faulted and slammed her magazine on the coffee table. "NO! God, you two are dim. Kuki wanted to buy that camera because she had an idea to get Wally alone. She was going to take pictures of him and then when the time was right, where neither of them had to go on any missions, and when the three of us wern't around, she was going to tell him that she _LOVES_ him!"

Nigel cocked an eye. "You mean, she planned this whole thing? But how did she know that it was going to rain today? She said herself that the weatherman said it was going to be sunny."

Abby rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples. "Oh come on. First of all, you know for a fact that no one in this treehouse ever watches the adult news, especially when it comes to weather. She put in a request to the Moonbase weather station and asked them to send her the reports every week on what the weather was going to be like. She's been planning this since we started summer vacation. And she's been keeping an eye out for when the next big thing for Rainbow Monkeys was and found out that the new digital camera was coming out, so she put it on layaway until a rainy day because she knew that no one in their right mind would try to attack that day, and then to make extra precautions, she put a request to Moon Base for us to have that day off from missions."

Nigel narrowed his eyes. "How'd she get past me? Requests and things have to go through me before they can be approved by Moon Base."

"Have you forgotten that I am second in charge as well as really close friends with the person in charge up there of requests? Maurice owed me a favor from a couple of years ago, and he payed me back. He wasn't going to do it at first, but then I reminded him of prom."

Hoagie frowned and crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah, don't remind us. He needed a date to his stupid junior prom, and you went with him so that he didn't have to go alone. We know the story, Five."

She nodded. "Exactly! So, that's the reason I know of her plan, and that's how I got involved in all this mess. Now, you two leave them alone so that they can finally, after ten years, let the other know how they feel." She stood up and glared at the two boys. "That means no knocking on the door, no calling for them, no fake missions, and absolutely no planning on listening in! When they come out, hopefully the romantic tension between them will be gone and we can finally go about our lives in a normal manner."

"What happens if they do get together and one day break up though?" Nigel asked, knitting his eyebrows together.

Abby sighed and sat back down in the armchair. "Well, we will just have to cross that bridge when we come to it. They're old enough to figure things out on their own though. Besides, what happens if they don't let the other know?"

Hoagie slid off the arm of the chair. "Then they'll never get together and will probably be miserable for the rest of their lives."

"Or something like that," Abby agreed. "So it's a deal then. None of us will bother them until they are ready to come out and talk to us."

"Deal."

* * *

"Kuki, these are all blurry!" 

"There must be something wrong with my camera."

"I really don't think it's the camera."

"Are you saying that I can't take good pictures?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Then just what are you saying?"

"I'm just saying they're blurry!"

Kuki threw the camera onto Wally's bed as tears formed in her eyes. Angrily, she clenched her fists and held them to her side. "If you think you can do better, Four, then why don't you take the stupid pictures!"

Frustrated, Wally cried, "FINE! I will!" He glared at the petite girl as he brushed past her, snatched the camera from the bed with one hand and grabbed her upper arm with his other. He ignored her slight cry of pain and threw her to the floor. Her green sweatshirt fell gracefully around her as she pushed herself up on her arms, a bare shoulder slipping from the neckline. Her eyes were full of tears and a few were running down her cheeks. She was just about to get up when Wally held out a hand. "Don't move," he said, carefully kneeled down and took a snapshot. Frowning, he looked from the display screen of the camera toward her eyes. "I'm sorry if I hurt you." He quickly circled her and took a few more pictures, each from different angles. "Just don't move."

He circled her once more until he was standing directly in front of her. He quickly kneeled down, ready to take a picture, and blushed. Her long black hair was spilling over her clothed shoulder, and her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She was blushing gently and her mouth was slightly opened while her legs were sprawled out behind her. "What are you looking at," she demanded, frowning.

He shook his head gently and held out a hand for her, depositing the camera on the floor with his free hand. "I really am sorry."

"You didn't hurt me," she admitted. "I was just surprised to see you act that way around me." Slowly, she reached out and grabbed his hand, a rush of warmth entering her body when they made contact.

He gently helped her to her feet and pulled her close to him. Both smiled gently at the other when he pulled her hands up and around his neck and then set his own on her waist. "You aren't mad at me then?" he asked, pulling her closer until their bodies touched.

Kuki felt his muscles tighten against her own as she reached up to play with the hair on the nape of his neck. Slowly, she shook her head as he began to lower his to hers. Her hands, that were resting on his neck and shoulders, tightened to give herself more leverage as she rose onto her tiptoes, bringing herself even closer to him. "Wally," she whispered just as he brushed his lips against hers, pulling them into their first ever kiss.

Wally felt his heart race as he and Kuki kissed. He smiled into the warmth of her lips and ran his fingers through her long black hair. Quickly, he pulled away for a breath and watched in amusement as she licked her lips. "Kuki," he groaned hoarsely, dragging his knuckle along the bone of her cheek. "M-maybe we should take more pictures."

She nodded and pulled away from him to regain her composure. "I'll be right back," she said and dashed out of the bedroom towards her own. Wally smiled and threw himself onto his bed, grabbing one of his many pillows. Bitting his lower lip, he pressed his face into the pillow and screamed happily, hugging the pillow to his body. A couple of breathless screams later, he heard his bedroom door open once more and looked up at the girl as she stood in his doorway, arms full of clothes. "Are you still going to take my picture?" she asked and he smiled at her.

"Of course."

"Okay then, Mr. Artist. Tell me what to do."

* * *

As the evening wore on and on, and the storm subsided into the night, the members of the treehouse began to drift off to sleep with the exception of Wally and Kuki, who continued to take pictures. Wally had Kuki dress up in different costumes ranging from a southern belle in the early part of the century to a grecian goddess to a more traditional Japanese geisha. Kuki smiled as he finished the last of the geisha pictures and rushed into his bathroom to change into her next costume. 

Wally had taken the time to protect each and every picture while she was gone so that if the camera died on him, the pictures would be saved to the memory card. He sighed and looked up to find Kuki standing in the door of the bathroom, dressed in a very short light purple bathrobe. He face-faulted. "Kuki, what exactly are you wearing under that?" It was too short to be hiding a dress.

She grinned. Her expression could only have been read as seductive, and it scared him. "You should come over here and find out," she said in a low, calm voice. Nervously, he made his way over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist as she pulled him to her and kissed him once again. He felt her hands move between them and undo the knot on the belt of her robe, letting it slide open. He blushed and slid his hand across the small of her back as she deepened their kiss. The robe was tempting him to open his eyes, but he refused until she gently pulled away. "You can look at me, you know," she whispered and his eyes shot open. The blush on his cheeks spread up to his ears as he saw her new outfit; a very Kuki-like bikini. He smirked. Of course it had Rainbow Monkies on it. She pulled out of his arms, slid the robe off her body and spun around slowly so he could see everything. "Well?" she asked.

He shook his head in amusement. "I take it you want to do beach pictures?" he said, only just noticing the beach ball, pail and shovel that she had brought into his room with her. She nodded and squealed as he agreed. Setting up a blanket on the floor, he motitioned for her to sit down. "Just kick your legs behind you, lean forward, support yourself with one arm in front of you and one arm behind you, and tilt your head just a little bit to the left." She did as she was told and he took the picture, immdediately protecting it. He quickly changed his position so that she had to look over her shoulder at him. "I am getting copies of these pictures when you develop them, right?" he asked, taking his second snapshot.

"If you'd like copies, then yes," she replied, turning over so that she was lying on her stomach with her head in her palms and her elbows propped up.

He smiled. "Who wouldn't want a copy of these pictures?"

"Are you saying that to stroke your own ego, or because they're just good?" she asked, sitting up so that she was crosslegged.

"Both," he said, biting his lip. "And good isn't the word for them, Kuki. These are incredible."

She chuckled. "Well, no one can say you're not modest."

"Hey, a good model makes for a good photographer."

"So why did my pictures suck?"

He put the camera down and stared at the asian girl. "I never said they sucked. They were just out of focus or blurry. Some were really good, though," he said, picking the camera back up.

"They should have turned out amazing though, if your philosophy is true."

"My philosophy?"

"Didn't you just say that 'a good model makes for a good photographer'?"

He smiled. "You think I'm amazing?"

"I've always thought that," she admitted.

"Kuki, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were flirting with me."

"Who said I'm not?"

"Do you like me?" The question was so blunt and to the point that it knocked both of them into stunned silence. Wally couldn't believe he asked the question so easily, and Kuki couldn't believe he had actually asked it. The boy cleared his throat, adjusting the camera's focus. "I think we might have enough pictures of the beach."

"Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes."

"What are you saying 'yes' to?"

"Your question."

"Which question?"

"Wally, I'm going to make this easy for the both of us. I like you."

"Y-you do?"

"Yes."

"Since when?"

"Since we met."

"Kuki, that was ten years ago!"

"I know."

"And it's still just 'like'?"

"No."

"Then what is it?"

"I-I," she frowned and turned away. "I'm not ready to tell you yet. I thought I was, but I'm not."

"Do you love me?" Kuki blushed deeply and grabbed a handful of clothes, taking them to the bathroom. He waited until she closed the door, and silently walked over to it, pressing his ear to it in case she began to talk to herself. He had to know! A few silent minutes later, he pulled away from the door just as it began to open. Kuki blinked up at him and turned her head so she wasn't looking him in the eye anymore. "Are you in love with me?" he asked again, setting his hands on her shoulders so she couldn't go anywhere.

"You just aren't going to let this go, are you?"

"No."

"Yes."

"_NO_, Kuki! I'm not going to let this go!"

"That's not what I was saying 'yes' to."

"My question again?"

"Yes."

"You love me?"

"Yes."

"You're in love with me?"

"Yes."

"You're sure?"

"_Yes_!"

"Positive?"

"Damn it, Wally! I love you!"

Wally smiled and kissed the girl gently. He knew that once she swore, that was the final straw. She loved him, and that was that. Once he broke away, he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "So, does that mean you'll be my girlfriend if I asked you?"

"Is that your way of asking?" she wondered, licking her lips once more.

"Yes."

"Then that's my answer."

* * *

Night came and went and morning had finally arrived. Kuki had spent the night in Wally's room, taking pictures until they both fell asleep in each others' arms. Hoagie, Abby and Nigel had woken up early as they always did and sat around the kitchen table, sipping on hot chocolate and reading as they always did. Nigel turned a page of the newspaper and scoffed. "Apparently, Cree has been selected to take part in the program where college students become apprentices for public officals. Three quesses as to who she's apprenticing for." 

"The mayor?" Hoagie replied, taking a bite out of a chili cheese dog.

"Yep."

Abby sighed and pushed a piece of sausage around her plate with her fork. "Guess it's going to take some initiative to get some of our members into office, then. Maurice would do it, but he's too busy running the Teens Next Door and getting his grades for college up."

"You talk to Maurice a lot, don't you?" Hoagie asked, not even trying to hide the bitterness in his voice.

"Don't worry, Hoagie," she said, smiling. "Maurice is just a good friend."

"What am I? Chopped liver?"

"Of course not."

"No plans, Five," Nigel said, glaring down the table at the girl. "One night of stressing about a couple is enough. I already have to worry about Kuki and Wally. Don't make me need to worry about you two."

Both Hoagie and Abby blushed, looked at each other and turned away. "No problems there, boss," Hoagie replied, shoving the remainder of his chili cheese dog into his mouth.

"Feeling left out, One?" Abby asked, flipping through the rest of her magazine.

One sneered. "Of course not! I've got Lizzie. Why should I feel left out?"

"Because Lizzie isn't in our sector, and let's face it, Nigel. You're the odd boy out."

"Oh, shut up. I just don't want to see any of our friendships destroyed because everyone decided to start dating a teammate. The Moon Base initiated rules about that, you know."

Abby sighed. "Well, they only initiated those rules once Lizzie joined the Teens Next Door and you two began to do that whole 'on again-off again' thing that couples in the television shows who are going to get married do."

"Are you insinuating that Lizzie and I are going to get married?" Both Abby and Hoagie chuckled. "What's so funny?"

Hoagie bit his lip to keep from laughing. "Boss, you already bought her a ring."

Nigel face faulted and blushed. "How'd you know about that?"

"Oh, please," Abby cried. "You asked me to ask her what her ring size was..."

"...And you begged me to fly you to the mall when you inherited that small fortune from your grandmother."

"We aren't blind, One."

"And we aren't stupid either."

"Morning, guys," Wally yawned as he walked out of his room. The three froze and stared at the blond. "What'd I say?" he asked, noticing the reaction he was getting from his friends and teammates.

"You're shirtless," Nigel commented and Wally looked down.

Apparently, he had forgotten to replace the white t-shirt and his normal sweatshirt from the previous night. He blushed and ran a hand through his messy hair. "Well, there was a lot going on last night, and I guess I must have just forgotten."

"Nothing too serious, I hope," Nigel replied, narrowing his eyes.

"Don't preach, One. Nothing like that happened," Wally said, sinking into one of the kitchen chairs. "Abby told you, didn't she?" He glared at the girl and she shrugged. "Kuki told me all about her little plan right before she fell asleep. Granted, I'm happy that she went through all of that to tell me her big secret, but she didn't need this elaborate scheme."

"Four syllable word alert," Hoagie joked and winced when the blond smacked him on the arm.

"Twit."

"Jerk."

"Stop," Kuki's voice came from the hallway. The four turned to face her and smiled. She looked exhausted, but never the less, adorable. Instead of getting some bed clothes, she had slept in a green summer dress and was carrying a bright orange Rainbow Monkey.

"Morning, sunshine," Abby called and Kuki's hyperness returned as she bounced toward the table.

"Good moring, Abby," she replied, ignoring the open chair and opted to sit on Wally's lap. "Morning," she whispered, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Hey," he replied, holding her gently. "You get the film developed already?"

She smiled and held out a small binder. "Sure did. And there were tons of them. I can't believe how good these turned out.

Nigel reached across the table and took the binder from the girl. Slowly, he flipped through the pages and with each turned page, his eyes widened. "Wow, Four. These are great!"

Hoagie took the book from his leader and mimicked the younger boy. He nodded. "Yeah! They look like they were taken by a professional!"

Wally blushed and looked away from the girl in his lap. "Well, I did have a great model," he replied.

"Three, you look incredible in these. Almost as if you were a professional model or something," Hoagie said, passing the book towards Abby who nodded her agreement. Kuki didn't say anything, but instead she bit her lower lip and smiled.

"Turn to the last page," Wally said softly and the three complied. Instead of the usual two pictures to a page, it was a single picture in the middle of the page. In the picture, Kuki was wearing the green summer dress and a straw hat while Wally was sitting next to her in his jeans. He had an arm drapped over her shoulder and was giving the camera a peace sign. Kuki was sitting cross-legged with her hands in her lap. Both were sitting on a branch that went through the boy's room and both looked generally happy.

"It's our first offical picture as a couple," Kuki said, blushing. "I found the location and Wally prepared the camera."

Nigel smiled. "Looks like you two make a great couple, then."

The other four smiled at each other and nodded. "Yep."

* * *

Well, that's the end everyone. Thanks to ShinobuFan175 for letting me know of my little error about "developing pictures". I fixed it. See, I've never taken a photography class in my life, and the person who has studied it for years who proof-read my story simply didn't catch it, I suppose. Either way, I edited it so that it's different now.


End file.
